On April 3, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will visit the Virginia Military Institute, the NATO headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, and deliver remarks at the World Affairs Council at the Sheraton Waterside Hotel in Norfolk.

At approximately noon, Secretary Clinton will receive the Distinguished Diplomat Award from the Virginia Military Institute. Established in 1996 by the board of advisers for VMI’s Department of International Studies and Political Science, the Distinguished Diplomat Award is given in recognition of outstanding achievement in advancing U.S. interests abroad through diplomacy.

“Secretary Clinton’s work throughout her public life representing the United States in numerous venues and on issues of national and international importance makes this award highly appropriate,” said Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III, superintendent of the military college.

Secretary Clinton will also visit members of the only NATO command in North America and the only permanent NATO headquarters outside of Europe. Upon arriving at Allied Command Transformation (ACT) in Norfolk, Virginia, Secretary Clinton will receive a briefing on NATO activities. Following the briefing, Secretary Clinton will attend a meet and greet with ACT community members.

In the evening, Secretary Clinton will serve as a guest speaker at the World Affairs Council NATO Fest 2012 Banquet at The Norfolk Sheraton Waterside Hotel. The NATO Festival is one of the World Affairs Council’s most successful programs. The program honors the NATO nations and focuses on different aspects of issues the transatlantic alliance faces.

For further information, please contact the Department of State’s press office at (202) 647-2492 or Colonel Stewart MacInnis (540) 464-7207 (office) or (540) 570-0464 (cell) or by email at macinnissd@vmi.edu.